Are We The Waiting
by KuriQuinn
Summary: “From here on in…we all begin new paths.”
1. Chapter One

**_Are We the Waiting_**

_Author_: KuriQuinn

_Title_: Are We The Waiting

_Fandom_: Naruto

_Disclaimer_: I don't own Naruto, never will and have no intention of leading a crusade to try to own it. That's too much money and too much effort. However, I do like to manipulate the characters to do my bidding because it amuses me and countless others. The idea for the wonderful anime was from Masashi Kishimoto. Kudos, dude.

_Rating_: PG-13

_Pairing_: Figure it out.

_Summary_: '_From here on in…we all begin new paths...' _A meeting with a familiar stranger changes Sakura's life, although she's not sure if it's changed for the better.

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The sky outside of the Ichiraku was cloudless, showing off the full moon of summer in all of its glory. The air was calm, with the slightest breath of wind, and filled with the intermittent shouts or voice patterns of the everyday people of Konoha. It was early evening and although in most cases families were closing up shop for the night, one Haruno Sakura was still working late.

After her parents had died in a fire two years before, Sakura had been left to fend for herself. Although she missed them terribly, she didn't begrudge them for this. Even when they had been alive, her parents had told her that they had nothing to leave her but her education. And as one of the top shinobi in the village, her education in the ninja arts had paid off. But in skills alone. Even working on the various missions that her mentor and the Fifth Hokage Tsunade sent her on wasn't enough to pay her bills. Luckily her best friend Ino's family had known someone that needed help, which led to the reason she was still working late that summer night when the rest of the village was closing down.

The counter of the Ichiraku was deserted save for the two old ladies at the one end who were talking in hushed voices and eating quietly, while the other end was inhabited by the very loud, very boisterous form of Uzumaki Naruto, known to most of the citizens as the boy that held the Kyuubi demon deep within him. At the moment, the scruffy blond teenager was grinning up at Sakura cheerfully, holding out his empty bowl in a gesture as though to ask for another.

"Come on, Sakura-chan, just one more? I'm still a growing boy, I need sustenance!"

"Anymore sustenance and Hinata-chan is going to be yelling at me for making you fat," Sakura replied firmly, a smile on her lips despite her words. She always had time to joke with Naruto about his eating habits, even though he was a busy jounin – he always managed to stop by at the Ichiraku after each mission.

'After seeing Hinata-chan first,' Sakura reminded herself, almost enviously. The heiress to the Hyuuga name had been going out with Naruto for about half-a-year now, something that her family, although not to pleased with, was allowing to pass. It was mostly because of the promise that Naruto had made to Hyuuga Neiji so many years before – that he would change the brutal traditions of the Hyuuga, which included the main families and the branch families – that they seemed to hold back from their displeasure.

"She would not – oi, Sakura, you're so mean," Naruto groaned, putting on his long-suffering face.

"Mean?" Sakura's pleasant demeanour changed all of a sudden as Naruto's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Mean! How am I mean when I just gave you five bowls of ramen for free?"

"They weren't free, they're on my tab!"

"Which you never pay," Sakura reminded him, crossing her arms. A strand of cerise hair strayed into her eyes and she tilted her head quickly to one side to keep it out of her face. "Which means, good night, Naruto, go home."

"But Sakura –"

"Now!" the flash of anger of her inner self managed to slip out, making Naruto jump to his feet, laugh nervously and nod.

"Fine then," he stuck out his tongue at her. "But this doesn't mean you can get rid of me forever!" His devilish grin faded, replaced with the softer, kind smile that he only ever showed Hinata or herself. "Take care, okay? And go bug Tsunade-baasan for another mission; you look like you could use some action."

He leaned over the counter to kiss her chastely on the cheek, before disappearing completely so that she was staring out at the empty street before her where he had been moments before. Chuckling to herself, she turned around and returned to her task of cleaning up the place. The owners had left her in charge of the evening shifts, which she didn't mind at all.

Night time was Sakura's time. It was quiet and calming and it gave her a few precious, untainted moments to think about everything and nothing at all.

"…Poor thing…"

"Isn't that the Haruno girl? The one who…?"

"…Sh!"

A pause.

Her shinobi skills kicking in, Sakura felt her ears twitch as she caught a snippet of the conversation the two old women were having. Usually she had a rule against eavesdropping on other peoples private discussions, but this seemed to be about her. Her curiosity got the better of her. Although tense, she continued to move around the kitchen area, pretending to be absorbed in her work, humming something under her breath but still able to hear what they were saying.

After a long moment, the woman who was talking seemed to be satisfied that she was not listening to them, and continued with her little bit of gossip. "Yes, that's her…such a waste, really. It's been five years…and still she's waiting for him."

"Him?" a whispered question, and then a gasp of realization. "Oh, yes, the Uchiha boy – that was such a tragic turn of events…"

Sakura's grip on the dishes she was washing became tight and she felt a curious straining feeling behind her eyes. She swallowed hastily, now trying to ignore what the women were saying about her. Her and –

"…She's such a pretty young thing…there are so many in Konoha who would have her – I heard she refused the taijitsu boy – what's his name? Maito Gai's boy – Lee, was it? I heard she refused him six times before he finally gave up."

"Oh, no!" the old biddies voice was crestfallen. "It would have been such a good match…even the Uzumaki boy has found someone, but she's still alone…"

A pitying sigh, "Such a waste of life. He's never coming back."

There was a shatter somewhere below her and it took Sakura a moment to realize that she had dropped the stack of bowls that she had been in the process of drying. For a moment she could merely stare numbly at them, but when she felt the gaze of the two old busybodies, she merely fashioned her usual cheerful smile and prattled on about something to do with innate clumsiness and how super strength obviously didn't mean super grace.

The two women giggled, telling her how true it was and joking with her, as though they hadn't been talking about her moments before. Her inner self wanted to scream obscenities at them for daring to say such things about her. A waste? Who had asked them? It wasn't their place to comment on what wasn't their business. Did they really think that she chose to be the way she was? Lee was one of the people she cared most about.

'But what he wanted…I couldn't give him,' she thought dejectedly as she picked up the last of the shards and threw them out, merrily telling the woman that it was closing time and barely looking at the large tip they left her. When they had gone she tossed it into the trash bin, feeling the burning taste of their pity in her mouth and where the money touched her skin.

It was enough that she had all of her friends constantly pitying her, but to have complete strangers decide to barge into her life, which had been relatively without heart-rending event as of late?

The streets were empty when Sakura finally managed to close everything up and head towards home. Home…that empty place where it was just her and her memories.

She hated being at home.

The road leading there was just ahead, branching off in two directions. Both ways led to memories that she would rather forget, but knew she couldn't. If she went left she could get home quickly, delve into her warm bed and possibly lose herself in a trashy romance novel that usually managed to put her to sleep before she got to the end of the page. But if she took the left…

The air was crisp now, a scent of trees all around her and the light breeze sending pleasant shivers down her spine. It seemed to be telling her to go left, that tonight wasn't meant to escape into a fantasy realm but to return to that spot from all those years ago. It seemed tonight was a night to remember.

Her feet were already moving down the familiar path that she traveled once a fortnight, the same sights having not changed over the years. The nostalgia for the old days made her throat tight and she remembered what the old women had been saying about her waiting.

Did they really think that she had a choice?

The feeling of butterflies in her stomach was almost overpowering long before she reached the bench. It was always like this; the expectation to see something or someone and then being disappointed when it was merely the simply constructed seat; the complete emptiness of the place. Long after she arrived she always imagined that she could hear the echoes of children's cheers and cries from the day before, and sometimes she thought she saw the ghost of herself and the others from when they were younger.

'The unbeatable Team Seven,' she thought with a grim smile as she approached the bench, looking at it for a long moment. 'How long has it been…?'

Five years

The answer was immediate, and she knew that without effort she could probably narrow it down to the very minute.

This was where she had last seen him. This was where she had last heard him speak to her and where she supposed he had held her, even if it was to leave her lying on the bench until some villagers noticed her the next morning. Even now the dull ache of hurt twanged inside her, never really gone despite the time that had passed.

'It's been five years, Sasuke-kun…where are you now?'

Since he left she waited for him. At first it had been nightly. She had wanted to wait forever. She had wanted to be the first one that he saw when he returned to Konoha. She didn't care if he called her annoying again, she didn't care if he didn't feel anything towards her – she cared so much that she didn't care. She had just wanted him home and safe, and if that meant waiting almost all night she didn't mind. But as the months went by the nightly pilgrimages became fewer and for less amount of time, until they turned into more of a stroll than anything; a casual momentary look to see if she was still alone and then the lone walk home.

She glanced ahead of her, watching where the path diverged and led back to the main road, debating with herself to go home now. But instead her feet propelled her towards the bench and she found herself sitting down, staring off into space, the sound of the wind in the trees her only companion. Her hair blew in her face but she ignored it, knowing that short of putting a hat on,she couldn't do much. She had never grown her hair back. That stupid myth that Sasuke liked girls with long hair had long since ebbed away – her inner self had long ago convinced her that if Sasuke didn't like her as a person, he wouldn't like her any better with long hair. And it really was a bother anyhow, as she still told Naruto jokingly.

'_Such a waste of life. He's never coming back.'_

She looked at the ground, frowning darkly. Despite the ignorance in their words, they cut like a knife. All she had right now was her hope and it was like these ignorant people were trying to take that from her as well. Her younger self would cry and get angry at such things but truthfully, Sakura was all cried-out. She just didn't have the energy to waste on meaningless tears anymore. They couldn't bring the people that she loved back to her – besides; she had to be strong so that her friends wouldn't worry. Those that were entrusted with S-Class missions didn't need to be worrying about her at the back of mind. People like Naruto and Kakashi-sensei and Ino, who taunted her in her ambiguous friendly way that she should apply for jounin.

The bench was cold beneath her, she noticed vaguely, shifting her body slightly and pulling her knees up to her chest. It didn't matter if someone saw up her tunic-like skirt; there was no one around – her senses could tell her that much. And if there was someone around it wasn't like they could go shouting to the world about seeing up Haruno Sakura's skirt because she'd beat them into the middle of the next century if they did.

An owl or something else of the sort made a mournful noise somewhere in the forest, and with a sigh she closed her eyes, cradling her face in her hands. Why was she still here? She could have left, she could have just walked by the bench after seeing that no one was around. The blunt truth that she hadn't gotten over the pain of the past angered her slightly, making her hate herself for her desperate pilgrimages for the past five years. She groaned low in her throat, more out of aggravation than anything else.

"Why are you crying?"

The sudden low, flat tone of voice in the darkness made her jump in surprise, and her reaction was to immediately jump to her feet, kunai in both hands and face the owner of the voice. Her face felt like it was heating up horribly and she wondered in pointless worry that whoever the stranger was might have seen up her skirt.

Luckily for her pride, the stranger was standing behind the bench and the path behind him was disturbed in such a way that it was apparent he had come from the forest behind her. If that could be termed as lucky, Sakura thought peevishly, recalling previous experiences where it hadn't been.

The stranger was almost a head taller than she was, cloaked from head to foot and wearing a large, wide brimmed hat that kept his face in the shadows. His stance was calm, neither defensive or holding any intent to attack her, although this didn't make Sakura want to relax her hold on her kunai.

'_Why are you prowling around here in the middle of the night?'_

'_I knew you were to come this way…if you were to leave…so I just waited here…'_

"Who the heck are you?" she demanded hurriedly, trying to cover up her moment of weakness that she had believed she was sharing with none but herself. "And I wasn't crying."

The stranger seemed to take this bit of information in, the most subtle movement of his head making her believe he was cocking his head to one side. Then, without commenting on her words, he nodded towards the kunai she held in her hands. "There's no need for weapons here."

"And I'd trust an outsider's word for it?" Sakura prompted, holding the kunai higher, ordering herself to focus in case this person turned out to be a spy or assassin of some sort. It wasn't unheard of to get the odd hired killer to come after Naruto or Tsunade-sama or even Kakashi-sensei. If that was the case, this guy was going to get one hell of a nasty surprise!

There was a silent clatter at her feet and she had to catch herself before looking down completely to what had made the noise. Letting her guard down was the last thing on her mind. Her eyes focused on the stranger, she made the subtlest movement of her eyes downward to study what appeared to be a forehead protector from Konoha, before returning her gaze to the stranger. He still stood directly in front of her. "You're from Konoha?"

"It would seem so."

The cold, self-righteous words gave her a chilling feeling in her heart. There was no warmth in this stranger. He had the voice of a killer, she could tell.

"Than how come I've never seen you?" she asked, deciding to continue the conversation merely for the sake of keeping this stranger busy. If he didn't have a good enough explanation for his presence or lack thereof, she was going to have to get ready to defend Konoha from what might be a spy or an assassin – although it did beg the question of if he was an assassin, why had he bothered to make himself known to her.

"I left when I was a child to…travel."

'_Get out of here…and go back to sleep…'_

The pause before his last word was not unnoticed by Sakura, and although the excuse was plausible it did little to calm her slightly frazzled nerves. The fact that she couldn't see the face of the stranger but he could see her in plain view was unnerving to her.

She opened her mouth to ask what he wanted or why he had returned, but was surprised that he cut her off. "So why were you crying – did you break up with your boyfriend or something?

"I wasn't crying!" Sakura protested immediately, feeling her cheeks heat up in anger at the insinuations this complete stranger was making about her. It didn't help that there was a trace of wryness in his tone that made her think he was making fun of her. "And for your information, I don't have a boyfriend. I never had one and you want to know something else, you nosy jerk, I doubt I'll ever have one!'

Immediately after the words left her mouth Sakura wished she could take them back. The feeling of once again being that helpless, weak little girl whose feelings were all too apparent and she felt embarrassed at having just blurted out one of her deepest thoughts to this arrogant stranger. Trying to amend her words, she found once again to her annoyance that the stranger cut her off.

"Why would you think that? I'm sure there are many young men willing to be in your company," she was stunned not only at his words, but also to find that he moved suddenly, looking away from her and off towards the forest. The cloak and hat lifted a fraction of an inch, showing of a pale chin and thin lips.

She snorted bitterly, trying to keep her curiosity at what lay behind the mask at bay. "If I didn't know better I'd think you were indirectly telling me I'm pretty."

"If that's what it sounds like to you."

This man was infuriating, Sakura decided, although she had already lowered her kunai. She had determined that if this guy was an assassin or spy he was doing a horrible job by chatting up a lonely-looking, depressed shinobi on the outskirts of town. Besides, if he tried anything she was more than a match for him. It was like Ino had said…she was jounin level even if she hadn't been formally recognized as one…

Without another word she sat back down on the bench, looking off again into space. She barely felt the cold stone beneath her as her mind drifted off in thought, although she made sure to keep her senses attuned to the strangers movements. How many were willing to be in her company – she couldn't even count them, really. Initially it had just been Lee-san and Naruto – and on a mission to the Village of Sand she had caught the eye of Gaara even for a few moments, even though neither had acknowledged it openly.

Sakura didn't know what was so special about her. She wasn't pretty, far from it. Her forehead was the least of her worries these days, what with the dark circles under her eyes from sleepless nights – there was more muscle to her than actual figure, something that always made her jealous of Ino's voluptuous form – all she had were brains which, although a quality she took pride in, never came in handy in the worst of time. Nothing about her entire existence had ever mattered when it was important and yet young men in the village pursued her – was she that nice? She didn't think so – and anyone that had ever seen her beating up on Naruto or shouting at Ino or Kakashi-sensei would think that she was a holy terror.

And even if she had been pretty or useful in the right moments or a portrait of angelic form and they had asked her then…she would still have refused every single one of them for the simple reason that…that she just couldn't forget _him_.

'_Why won't you say anything to me? Why do you always keep so quiet? You never say a single word to me…'_

'_I told you, I don't need your help. Don't try to look after me.'_

"Who is he?"

She jumped, having forgotten for a fraction of a second the stranger that was there. He was now sitting down on the bench beside her, not looking at her. Despite his close proximity she still couldn't discern the face beneath the mask although now she could feel the chakra that he had somehow managed to cloak. It was strong, more powerful than anything she had ever sensed beside that of Naruto or Gaara, but strangely it wasn't threatening.

She wasn't aware that she had spoken her thoughts out loud and almost became flustered until he added, "I suppose it is a 'he' that preoccupies your thoughts."

She ignored the attempt at a joke, feeling the familiar straining behind her eyes and tightness in her throat that sometimes came upon her when she dwelled on the past too long. 'No, Sakura, a shinobi never shows emotion – least of all you, after all the useless crying you did when you were younger!'

'_No matter what, you just always hate me, don't you?'_

'_You're annoying.'_

"You're tense…he can't cause you that much pain – who is he?"

The simple question sent millions of thoughts through Sakura's mind, negating her previous order to herself, and in a second she had pulled violently away from whatever proximity she had to the stranger, suddenly on her feet. She could feel her eyes blazing at him in anger, coupled with the rapid beating of her heart.

She thrust her finger out almost so that it poked the stranger in the face, but he didn't move even a hairbreadth away. "Pain? _Pain_! You don't know what pain is – pain can't even compare to what I went through! I've waited five years – that's practically all of what everyone calls the best years of my life – waiting for someone to come back after I begged and pleaded with him to stay – I loved Sasuke with all my heart and I knew that he was never going to feel anything for me but I at least thought that he would come back – even if it was as an S-class criminal, I thought he'd at least come back once more so that I could see him and know that he was alive! Everyone sees me as 'the girl that wasted all of her life on the Uchiha boy' but I've never cared because I couldn't help the way I feel – but it's grating on me now like some rotting wound that's eating me from the inside out!"

'_I know all about your past, Sasuke-kun…even if you get revenge, though, it won't bring anyone happiness. Not even you Sasuke…nor me…'_

'_I already know.'_

She broke off, breathing hard, still trying to fight back the tears of frustration and anger that were threatening to spill. She was nearly losing the fight. Her vision was becoming filmy with moisture. "Do you have any idea how much it hurts to be betrayed by someone that you love?"

He seemed to be staring at her outstretched hand throughout her entire tirade, but when it seemed obvious that she had stopped he looked away. His words were nearly stolen by the wind, but she heard the low whisper, "Yes."

"Then you should know what it feels like to be reminded about it every waking moment, day-in-day-out without reprieve – and I came here to just be alone and be able to think without feeling the pitying gazes of everyone on me and you interrupt it and then decide to pursue the matter!"

'_You told me how painful it was to be alone! Right now I know your pain! I may have friends and family, but…if you were to leave…to me…to me I would be just as alone as you…'_

She slowly lowered her arm, her entire frame shaking. She felt like her knees were going to give way after any second. It had been years since she had such an emotional outburst – her ranting at Naruto was one thing, a show for the villagers at most, but what had just happened with this complete stranger showed her exactly how much she had finally broken under.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled begrudgingly, averting her gaze completely in case she unknowingly locked eyes with the stranger. "I shouldn't be telling a complete stranger about my problems. You probably have enough of your own."

"The Uchiha clan…" he murmured, cutting her off guard. His voice was musing, making Sakura believe that he hadn't heard a word of her half-hearted apology. "They were wiped out. All of them."

"Sasuke was the only survivor," Sakura replied quietly.

Once again, the bitter amusement lit upon the stranger's voice. "After such a tragedy, how do you know he wasn't dead from the moment his family was slaughtered? Just because the body moves doesn't mean that the soul is alive."

'_From here on in…we all begin new paths…_

"Sasuke was just as alive as anyone else!" Sakura snapped, instinctively defending her long-lost teammate. "If he weren't he wouldn't have bothered to excel in his training, or bothered to be mine and Naruto's teammate and he wouldn't have fought as hard as possible to protect himself and us on our missions."

"That might be seen as a means to revenge," the stranger stated, voice serious and cold. Sakura shivered again, wondering why this person's demeanor seemed to change every few seconds. From sarcasm to bitter cynicism in moments.

She rose to his challenge, tilting her head upwards. "You talk about Sasuke as though you know him – as though you think he was all about death! Well he wasn't! That may have been something he needed to do, but at the back of it all he wanted to restore his clan – doesn't that qualify as alive or the wish to be alive?"

There was a long silence between then, Sakura standing openly before him, feeling slightly unnerved by the hidden gaze of the stranger, while he remained in the shadows. She was cold, this time not from the stranger's words or tone, but from the air. She didn't move though. Where would she go, anyway? She couldn't leave this stranger to his own devices even if he was initially from Konoha.

' '_I… I love you with all my heart!'_

"How could you still love such a person," he asked finally, lowly. "From what you say he barely looked at you or ever encouraged your affections. And then he betrayed you for his own means – and still you wait for him over the years?"

"I love Sasuke because I do. It didn't matter that he didn't feel the same towards me and it still doesn't. I didn't care about the way he looked or how powerful he was or if he didn't like me – I cared because there was something about Sasuke." She could feel the tears, but still refused them appearance. "I cared because I could see something in Sasuke that he tried to hide away because he thought it was weakness when it really wasn't. And after his clan died his loneliness made my heart hurt – he always thought it was pity or me just following the crowd and liking him because everyone else liked him." She crossed her arms to warm herself. "Obviously if he were here he'd be proven wrong. Every one of his tagalongs gave up on him – but I couldn't. I tried, I always tried to humor Naruto or Lee or whoever but in the end it ended up hurting more than helping. I will never stop loving him."

'_I would do anything for you…so please, just stay with me…or take me with you if you can't stay here…'_

She felt sure at that moment that the stranger was looking at her, and she attempted an intense gaze despite her inability to see his eyes. "I loved him so much and the last thing he said to me was 'you're annoying.'" She chuckled bitterly. "Go figure."

The figure turned abruptly.

"You're mistaken."

"E-excuse me?" Sakura stuttered, disbelief mixing with anger at his daring to insult her. The stranger was now facing the forest, completely turned away from her. His long cloak shifted in the wind and it seemed that he was looking up. Sakura had the sudden thought of someone trapped in a memory.

"The last thing he said to you was 'thank you."

"That's ridiculous, how would you –" she began, before her voice suddenly died in her throat as a previously unthought-of realization appeared in her mind. All the feeling left Sakura's body as the full implication of his words hit her. There hadn't been anyone else around that night. She had been the last person to see Sasuke, the only one that had tried to stop him that night…

And now to have someone correcting her last memory of him in such a way…in that tone…

He was walking away from her, cloak swaying lazily as he purposefully began to walk away. She felt a brief flash of five years earlier when she had watched his retreating back before she had stopped him, the air of loneliness churning about him and then the dark.

'…_You really are annoying.'_

The idea that he was disappearing again blocked out any other in Sakura's mind and she felt as though all of a sudden her mind had ceased to exist and it was only her body that was moving on impulse. Her swift-footed training and chakra control propelled her fast upwards and she felt the breath of air on her skin and the feeling of her feet flying, before the impact on the ground. The scraping of her heels against the ground was the only sound she could discern as she crouched before him.

He stopped walking, this faceless stranger, as though pausing. Her heart was beating so strongly she thought that it would leap into her throat if it continued and she felt the trembling feeling come over her from her fingers all the way up to her chest. She forced herself to straighten up.

"…Sasuke-kun."

She could feel her lips forming the words and hear her voice on the wind, a mere murmur on the strong breath of the wind, but her mind couldn't seem to grasp the meaning. He, on the other hand, seemed to understand her completely, despite their distance and her silence.

The stranger seemed to debate with himself, before slowly reaching up. His movements were slow and intermittent as though he was carrying them out against his better judgment; he removed the wide-brimmed hat as well as the hood of the cloak to reveal the face beneath.

Sakura would have gasped if she had been able to find the energy to draw breath. The sheer shock of what lay beneath his hood pulsated through her entire body and mind.

He was her age with raven black hair, longer than she remembered it, sweeping past his ears. Intense onyx eyes that she knew hid the powerful, blood red sharingan gazed at her almost impassively, making his high cheekbones seem more angular and gaunt. There was a scar across his cheek that hadn't been there before but had healed enough that she knew it had happened long ago and his nose, although still aristocratic and fit to his face, looked as though it had been broken once and not set properly.

Uchiha Sasuke was as he was so long ago, standing apart and alone from others but his entire form giving off a strange aura of longing and sadness.

She finally managed to breath again, the intake so sharp that her lungs cried out in protest. She could still sense the wish to cry but fought it down. She had cried enough over him, she would not cry now, she ordered herself. She couldn't speak, even if she had wanted to, because her throat had closed up and it felt as though her voice had died. Disbelief was running rampant through her heart and convinced that she was dreaming, she shut her eyes tightly, trying to banish the misleading image over Sasuke from her mind lest the stranger be offended.

Hesitantly opening her eyes again, she felt renewed weakness in her joints when she noticed that he was still standing there. Sasuke was still standing not three feet away from her.

Neither of them moved for a spell, before Sakura forced her body forward, closing the distance between them so that she stood staring up at him. Five years ago he had barely been able to look over her head but now he stared over it with an ease that made the irrational, disjointed part feel like complaining about it. The rational part swore at her to snap out of her stupor, which she finally managed to do by throwing herself forward and burying her face in his cloaked chest.

The scent was purely Sasuke, one she had long since forgotten. She could feel him beneath her, the beating of his heart and his calm breathing. It was such a contrast to her own that she wondered if she wasn't just dreaming it. It was only when she felt his arms wrap around her form, hesitantly and uncomfortably, that she let out the breath she had taken in long moments ago and let out a wracking sigh that made her entire body shake.

"You're real," she murmured into the coarse cloth. "You're here and you're real."

She looked up, gazing straight into Sasuke's eyes. He was looking at her as though he couldn't quite understand something, as though she was a mystery. Behind his unease lay the same note of sadness and longing that Sakura recognized from the genin days. Just as the scars on his face were a testament to his five years alone, she could sense something hidden in his eyes as well.

How was it that Sasuke was here? What had he been doing all those year and why did he all of a sudden return to Konoha? Why, of all people, had he approached her? It was obvious that he hadn't initially wanted reveal himself, which led her to believe that he either wasn't in Konoha to return…or the darker option, he really was there to assassinate someone.

There were stories of S-class criminals and their deeds. And Sasuke had been listed as a missing-nin for so long that he was considered to be in rank with those criminals.

But the way he was looking at her now…the total look of loss, Sakura couldn't help but feel deep within her that he was home. To be home.

What of his brother? Sasuke wouldn't have come back if Itachi was still alive – he had said he was an avenger and that he couldn't walk the same paths as her and Naruto – but did that mean that he would leave again?

The questions rose up in her mind immediately, but she knew that Sasuke, no matter how much time passed since they last met, would not answer them. He was the only one that he trusted to know his business. And she didn't trust herself to ask the questions without breaking any how.

His entire frame was tense and although he was looking down at her, he was obviously expecting something. The questions that she had for him, it seemed.

If she asked…he would tell her that he was leaving again. But if she didn't, she could pretend that he was staying forever…

With great effort, the muscles in her face painful as she forced herself to smile happily at his return and to reassure him, she managed to whisper, "You won't leave me on the bench this time, will you, Sasuke-kun?"

She was sure she saw relief flit over his expression, before his mouth curved in the slightest, a gesture Sakura had always taken as a half-smile for the Uchiha boy. The slate was clean. He made no promises to her and she didn't expect them. She asked no questions, didn't expect him to feel anything towards her even though he knew of her feelings yet again – in all honesty, when hadn't he – but at the same time she felt a strange lull in her entire being that she had never endured before.

'Is this what peace feels like?' she wondered, not bothering to move from his embrace, which was really nothing more than him holding her up. He obviously realized how weak her knees were at the moment. She didn't want to think about the angers and frustration and the sadness.

If he stayed, she knew that there would be plenty of time for that. For now – just for this moment, she wanted to enjoy it and hold on and just pretend.

Because she knew what would come next would not be pleasant.

* * *

There we go, I've been musing over this fic for the past few weeks. I don't know if I should continue it or just leave it as a one-shot. You tell me. I got this idea from a fic I read, so I might continue just to make it more mine. 

R&R please,

Kuriness


	2. Chapter Two

_**Are We the Waiting**_

_Author_: KuriQuinn

_Title_: Are We The Waiting

_Fandom_: Naruto

_Disclaimer_: I don't own Naruto, never will and have no intention of leading a crusade to try to own it. That's too much money and too much effort. However, I do like to manipulate the characters to do my bidding because it amuses me and countless others. The idea for the wonderful anime was

_Rating_: PG-13

_Pairing_: Sakura/Sasuke

_Summary_: Life, especially high school life, is full of doing stupid things. But with Chaya Mizuhara, it seems to be an art…

_Authors Note: _For the sake of this fic and my idea, I use references to the manga as I see fit – unlike in the chapters 300 onward I do have Sakura and Naruto having teamed up with Sai, but they failed to find or rescue Sasuke so it makes sense that she hasn't seen him since he knocked her out.

* * *

0

Sakura came to her senses a mere moment before Sasuke's discomfort became overly apparent to her. Sheepish, but careful not to show it, she stepped away from him, adopting a regal yet defensive posture as she looked up at her long-lost team mate. Sasuke looked surprised that she wasn't clutching to him anymore and Sakura remembered with a twinge of embarrassment and hurt, that all he remembered of her was that she had been a clingy, over-zealous child the last time that he had seen her.

The need to immediately correct his memory was so strong that she could almost taste it. Clearing her throat, she motioned with her head. "Regardless of what you're doing here…we need to go see Tsunade-sama."

Sasuke's expression was blank again, business like as she was used to. What she said was true. Whether Sasuke was, by some off chance, intent on staying here or intent on committing an assassination, either way he needed to see Tsunade now that he was in the environs of Konohogakure. And she would have to escort him as she had been the one to discover his presence.

There was a slight note of worry that Sasuke would not comply and that she would have to bring him to the Hokage by force – but it was fleeting. He nodded once, a thoughtful expression on his face, and then waited. For a moment, she didn't know what for, and then it became clear. He was waiting for her to lead him off. It had nothing to do with the possibility that he might not know the way – someone like Sasuke could never forget such an important thing as his home. The gesture was deference to Sakura as his captor, so to speak.

She was about to tell him that he was not a prisoner, when she remembered the crucial bit of information about Sasuke that had her tense.

_Missing-nin._

_S-Class criminal._

In any other instance, had it been any other shinobi, they would have attempted to bring down the Uchiha heir the moment they had seen him. Sakura had once again failed the test as a kunoichi, when she had told herself that she would never again cede to such a thing.

She looked up at Sasuke again, her mind racing and then nodded. It seemed even five years later, he was cleaning up her messes.

Not anymore, she promised herself. She had slipped up – but she still had enough time to fix mistakes. Putting her hands together to form the sign, she focused her energy to meld together in pure chakra, at the same time making sure that Sasuke was not moving.

"_Sokubaku no Jutsu!"_

Sasuke's eyes were the only feature to register even the slightest note of surprise as chakra erupted from the tips of her fingers and wound about his wrists and neck. It did not touch his skin, but it exuded a force that Sakura knew to be more than a little uncomfortable.

"That's my Binding Jutsu," she couldn't help but explain. "No one can remove it but me – unless you want to cut your hands and head off."

Sasuke stared at her calculatingly and she felt uncomfortable under the strength of the stare. Something she had never been able to accustom herself to about Sasuke was the intensity of his gaze when on the rare occasion it fell upon her. When they were genin he had only ever bothered to acknowledge Naruto, and only because Naruto posed some kind of challenge. Or maybe he had just been a problem that Sasuke just hadn't been able to understand.

She had been easy to understand – and easy to ignore. The times when he did look at her though and she fell under the scrutiny of eyes that seemed to have no depth and conveyed no meaning in them stood out in her mind.

She cleared her throat and motioned for him to follow her. Despite the knowledge that he was a missing-nin and should be treated like a prisoner, Sakura couldn't keep herself from walking in step with him, almost as though it was the old days.

'Actually, back then I always walked a step _behind_ him,' she thought vaguely. She had never felt up to the same mettle of Naruto and Sasuke. What had really changed in five years? Sasuke was as impressive as ever, she maintained, especially with the air of mystery that surrounded him and the blunt fact of his occupation. _Missing-nin_. The words still sent shivers down her spine. And Naruto, with his control over the Kyuubi, just as stubborn, tenacious and full of heart as ever.

'And me,' she added as an afterthought, walking with Sasuke through the backstreets of Konoha. 'What have I done besides learned to make medicine and break things? I'll never measure up to either of them anyhow.'

They were half-way to Tsunade's apartments when Sakura realized that they had not been stopped by anyone. It was curious, considering the village was on high alert as of late and the probability of her being able to lead an S-class criminal with chakra levels that any youngling ninja could sense from half-way across the village existed in the low percentages. It took her a moment to realize that in her comings and goings and constant errand-running for the Hokage, she had worked out a system of short-cuts and back-streets to make her journeys shorter. And apparently more secure.

Strange that she had only noticed it herself on this night.

The Hokage's apartments were quiet; she and Sasuke slipped inside unnoticed. It was easy due to the fact that Tsunade's pride dictated how much security she had – her only trusted guard was Shizune, who Sakura knew lived a few floors down from the Hokage, and Sakura herself, although Tsunade would never admit it to her. Sakura had an uncanny ability for just knowing what her mentor was thinking.

At the moment, though, she couldn't think what Tsunade's reaction would be.

Entering the top floor of Tsunade's apartment involved much silence and a near explosion of Sakura's nerves. The fact that she was towing a known criminal who might be stronger than bother her and the Hokage together seemed to weigh on her conscience more than ever as her feet tread on the usually squeaking floorboards.

She still hadn't decided how she was going to explain herself to Tsunade or to everyone else in Konoha, bearing in mind how fast news tended to travel through the village. Ninjas may have been discreet warriors but they were loud gossips. Sasuke's silence was as unsettling as it had always been but she was still too astounded by his presence to really care about it.

The mounting tension and the mixture of chakra and butterflies in her stomach increased with every step closer to the Hokage's private chambers. What exactly was she supposed to do? Knock on the door and a casually announce the return of the long-lost heir to the Uchiha clan? Sakura likened the result to walking up to an ANBU member and insulting his mother.

She wondered if she seemed visibly nervous regardless of desperate attempts to seem calm and collected. Maybe her chakra levels had spiked? She was sure Sasuke would have noticed if that had happened. He hadn't said anything though – when had he ever?

Just at the moment her nerves seemed to hit the breaking point, the door at the end of the hall slammed open loudly and out stepped none other than the Fifth Hokage.

Tsunade's form exuded just as much of an impressive and imposing air as it had when Sakura first set eyes on her so many years ago. Piercing eyes and mouth drawn into a thin line, the pale woman dressed in a rumpled robe that suggested she had fallen asleep at her paper-work yet again. As with every other garment she owned, her bust remained the most prominent part of her body. Although the jutsu to conceal her true looks remained in place, Sakura had long since begun to notice the weariness in her mentor. Especially in the past few weeks; diligently trying to avoid another war.

An intense look of suspicion lit upon her features. Sakura opened her mouth to speak but was immediately cut off by the irritated Hokage. "Sakura, explain."

It took her a moment to notice the cup that Tsunade held in her outstretched palm. The porcelain was cracked severely in the rim, almost as though someone had taken it and clapped it roughly against the wall.

Sakura had no answer for the simple reason that at that particular moment; Tsunade looked past her pupil and finally made out the tall, dark figure behind her.

The cup fell to the ground, crashing into countless splintery pieces, but other than that, there was no movement. Sakura had to force herself not to look backwards and see if the look on Sasuke's face matched Tsunade's. Tsunade seemed struck by disbelief and the inability to talk. For a full two minutes there radiated an uncomfortable silence that made Sakura's ears hurt, before Tsunade finally spoke.

"Sakura – _explain_."

This time the words were laced with a cold threat that dared the young shinobi to remain silent.

"I – I found him – at the outskirts of – Konoha and I – didn't know what else to – to do but bring him here – I –there was – you - !"

She wasn't even sure if Tsunade was listening to her inane babbling. She stopped after a moment to take a deep breath, scolding herself for the lack of professionalism and started again. "I met him on the outskirts. Despite the consequences of what he's doing here, you ordered that he should to be brought here if he returned."

Tsunade's lips pressed into an even firmer line. There was a sudden crash and the door from which Sakura and Sasuke had come through burst open, revealing Shizune, dressed in her bed clothes, looking as though she was ready for a fight despite her tussled hair and sleep-filled eyes. "I heard something crash and I –!" Her voice caught in her throat as she caught sight of Sasuke. "Tsunade-sama, watch –!"

"Be quiet, Shizune," Tsunade ordered the dark-haired woman, drawing herself up in the frame of her doorway. "Go find Kakashi and the elders. You –" she motioned to Sasuke violently, gesturing towards her room, "– inside."

He was still maddeningly silent, still trapped in Sakura's binding jutsu but walked forward none the less, disappearing into the dark of Tsunade's room. There was a slam of the door and Sakura suddenly found herself alone again. In the excitement of everything, they had completely forgotten that she was here.

Or had they?

She didn't know what to do. She couldn't very well barge in after Tsunade had closed the door – but she couldn't just stand here for hours on end, especially with Sasuke still trapped in her binding jutsu. A feeling of annoyance at the turn of events filled her head. She didn't want to wait in the hallway until Kakashi showed up, and being seen by the village elders had always been quite low on her list of things to do. She had long ago developed a dislike of the conservative old codgers.

By her count, seven minutes passed in complete silence. She couldn't even hear anything from inside Tsunade's apartments, although she attributed that to the thick wooden door and the shinobi ability of speaking quietly – if anyone was the master of that, it would be Sasuke who could communicate without words, and Tsunade who could understand without gestures.

It didn't make her feel any better – or any less curious.

Luckily (or unluckily), some type of fate was on her side. Tsunade's voice was loud and angry, even muffled by the thick wood of her door, making her jump. "Sakura, get in here!"

She didn't need to be told twice, wondering if she was being called in to stand as a guard or to plead her case so that Tsunade didn't decide that she too had suddenly become a criminal. After all, the Hokage had made it clear a long while back that fraternizing with a criminal could be enough to be convicted of aiding and abetting.

When Sakura entered the Hokage's office, however, she realized that this was not the case. Neither of the two occupants had looked up upon her entering the room, preferring to stare pointedly at one another. Glaring would have been a more appropriate word, but Sakura had long grown tired of using it, especially when it came to Sasuke. His glares had dominated her entire childhood; she would not have them dictating her future as well. What little might be left of it…

"Hokage-sama?" she said quietly, bowing her head respectfully, as she should when with the Hokage and in the presence of an outsider.

"What is a ninja that leaves his village without reason or permission for an extended period of time, Sakura?"

She froze, the tone in Tsunade's voice cold and flashing with warning venom that Sakura did not want to mess with. Clearing her throat and trying not to sound overly meek, she mumbled, "A missing-nin."

Tsunade barely acknowledged her response, still leering over at the silent Uchiha heir as she demanded, "And what is the law regarding missing-nin?"

Sakura winced, before speaking. This was the one shinobi law that she had pored over for months, trying to find a loophole that would excuse Sasuke should he ever return to Konoha. She'd never found anything. Word for word, she stated, "A missing-nin is a traitor to his or her village, one who holds the secrets of said village and people and deserts them. He or she thus forfeits all of his or her rights, including that of his or her life as decreed by the ruler of his or her village."

"And what is the law of Konohagakure concerning missing-nin?"

Like the mindless little automaton, her eyes glazed over as she spewed the information that Tsunade wanted to hear, once again becoming whatever was convenient at the time. "As decreed by the first Hokage, said criminal will be sentenced to public execution if found in the village, or dispatched of if found outside the walls of his village."

She could feel Sasuke's stare and Tsunade's anger, but ignored them. She understood now why Tsunade had wanted her to come into the office. She acted as a buffer or a mediator – as long as she was in the office, Tsunade didn't have to speak directly to this Uchiha. It was the first time in her life that Sakura had ever known Tsunade to refrain from addressing someone, whether from fear or anger. In this case maybe a little of both.

"Well, now that that's dealt with," Tsunade said, her voice winding down as though she was coming to the conclusion of a speech. "The laws are clear how this is to be dealt with." Her eyes glinting at Sasuke with great dislike, reminding Sakura of the times she had studied her mentor's face when she spoke about Orochimaru (on the rare occasion that she did). It occurred to her that this was all she saw when she looked at Sasuke, was his snake-like mentor. "Uchiha Sasuke, you are hereby sentenced to –"

"Wait!"

Sakura was panicked, her voice having escaped her before her brain could think things through. Her two companions looked over at her, Tsunade in annoyance and Sasuke with a glint of something akin to resignation. She knew in an instant that she had little time to plead her case, especially considering the seriousness of the matter. Her brain worked a mile a millisecond and the immature, unfocused part of her mentally cheered for having a large forehead and a large brain behind it.

All of the laws and loopholes that she knew of in the village charter swam in her head, none coming up to help her. She didn't want to play on Tsunade's favouritism of her as her only card; she needed something legal to back up her argument…

Her mouth had started talking again before she knew it, "It also states in cases concerning missing-nin…that they have a chance to acquit themselves." Her voice was meek, but her mind was realizing that what she was saying was true. A barely acknowledged '_Shannaro' _from a long forgotten part of her echoed in her mind as she continued, with a little more fervour than before. "'Should the missing-nin provide a solid alibi and reasons and/or evidence concerning his flight from his village, he can be released from suspicion."

The two of them were staring at her now as though she was insane, and there was no question as to why. The chances of there being evidence other than Sasuke's word, which was not very trustworthy to anyone in the village at the moment, were slim to none.

"N-not to mention," she plodded on, "it should be taken into account that he is the last of the Uchiha and for you to order his death would…would technically be considered finishing the mass murder that was started eleven years ago…them being such a noble family and all…"

Tsunade did not look impressed, while Sasuke merely seemed to have closed up again.

Sakura was panicked that she might be losing. "And – and also, as a former member of Team Seven, shouldn't Naruto and Kakashi be here to witness sentencing? They might also…be able to provide evidence of some sort…"

It was at this moment in her life Sakura realized why she would never have been able to be a lawyer. Her data-recall had no flaw, her knowledge was far-reaching and her belief in justice was good – but she had always been so horrible at stringing together thoughts and theories that she seemed like a bumbling idiot.

"Kakashi has been sent for and depending on the decision, Naruto will be sent for as well," Tsunade snapped. "And as for evidence, now would be as good a time as any." The Hokage finally looked Sasuke in the face and ordered, "Why are you here?"

It was a question that Sakura had wanted to know the answer to as well but had refrained from asking. Something told her that if she couldn't get him to answer, Tsunade didn't have a chance. The old woman probably knew this as well.

It was evident from his silence that the first question would foreshadow the rest, and it was for this reason that Tsunade probably decided not to go into an all-out interrogation. Besides, if she had wanted to do that, Sakura was sure she would have sent for Morino Ibiki, the captain of the Leaf interrogation squad.

A different tactic was in order. "Your brother is dead then."

Sasuke flinched, earning a searing cut from the still circulating chakra around his neck. Sakura wished she could remove the jutsu, but knew that at the moment it would probably not be a wise move. Instead, she watched her former team-mate closely. There had been another flicker in his eyes at the mention of his brother's name and an unbidden thought washed up in her memory.

"_Only I can kill him."_

"_Who?"_

"_He made me…cry…_

"_You cried…?"_

"_My…"_

"_What...What are you talking about?"_

_Fierce eyes glared at her, no, glared through her. "My only goal is to have my revenge. I have to become stronger than he is…now."_

'_Sasuke…'_

It was something she had always believed, and his reactions were a testament to it. Despite all of Sasuke's statements and insisting on killing his brother, about hating Itachi – of going as far as he could to kill the man…Itachi was still his brother and he loved him. To have killed his own brother would have been as mentally scarring as having witnessed his brother massacring his family.

Her heart hurt for him.

"…well of course, you wouldn't be here if he wasn't," Tsunade plodded on, none too sympathetically. "The question is why you decided to return to Konoha. You are being pursued as we speak by countless hunter-nins and there are no ties for you here since your leaving. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I didn't plan on coming here," Sasuke stated, speaking out loud for the first time since Sakura had recognized him that night. Something had changed in the timber of his voice. Maybe it was that there wasn't any gentle breeze to carry away his words this time, because it seemed louder and clearer. "And even when I did I didn't expect to see anyone or end up here. It just happened."

"It just happened?" Tsunade repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Just like it "happens" that you still have the curse seal?"

Sakura's eyes shot open and she instantly searched out the dark mark that gleamed barely visible beneath the hem of Sasuke's cloak. It should have been the first thing that she looked for and she had forgotten…! Shame washed over her and she could feel her chakra bind flare and Sasuke flinch again. If he still had the curse seal, it meant that Orochimaru would still be alive – and Sasuke was probably still in his control.

She felt like her entire body was constricting.

"I have no wish for one of Orochimaru's minions to be within the walls of my city – and considering your reputation on your own, coming here was a foolish endeavour," Tsunade said coldly, leaning forward and her clasped hands. The air radiated a choking tension, making Sakura wish that she hadn't been called in at all. "And if you are on some foolhardy mission to commit an assassination, I assure you, you made a mistake coming here."

Sasuke kept silent, his eyes glowering insolently at the Hokage. Another long moment of silence echoed in the Hokage's office, before Tsunade spoke again. This time, her question came as a shock to both teens. "Do you want to die, Uchiha Sasuke?"

It was a loaded question, and Sakura was sure that Sasuke could see it as well. It appeared almost like that last question they had needed to answer on the Chuunin exams, the tenth and final question that would generate a pass or a fail. Only this time, Naruto wasn't here to inspire them to answer it.

In coming to Konoha and entering the city's gates, Sasuke had made himself vulnerable. By talking to Sakura and being seen by her, he had surrendered himself to their justice. They could kill him easily and he would have to submit or be forced to be hunted down and killed with more fervour and by the best ninjas from Konoha – which included Naruto and Kakashi and to a lesser extent, Sakura.

Sasuke's fists clenched, making the chakra bindings simmer at the skin of his wrists. From the expression in his eyes, Sakura could tell that he was battling with himself inside. After all of the mental anguish that he had lived through, it might be enough to ask for his death. But what of the will to live? She remembered Sasuke had fought so hard to stay alive, so hard to get strong and to achieve his goals, would he really throw it all away for some eternal peace?

"No."

His voice nearly inaudible, Sakura let out a breath that she hadn't realized that she had been holding. That nearly forgotten part cheered in her head and she tried to quash this feeling. Just because Sasuke had answered in such a way didn't mean that Tsunade would allow him anything. She had shown less mercy to more minor S-class criminals than Sasuke.

Tsunade peered over her hands at Sasuke, trying to see through him or at least gain some insight. Sakura knew what a difficult position the woman had been put in. Every village law dictated that Sasuke should be killed; in fact, when the Elders showed up they would demand his death as an example to the villagers. Tsunade had a very limited amount of time to make a decision before it became influenced and made clear by the Elders. There were risks to allowing him his life – suppose he still worked for Orochimaru, as she had a suspicion that he was?

But it was not in her nature to refuse second chances – and the boy _was_ the only surviving heir to the Uchiha clan. She did not wish to be remembered as the Hokage who put an end to the noble blood of the Uchiha.

Sakura really believed that Tsunade would cede defeat and call for Sasuke's death. Her heart just couldn't hope anymore for things she knew were out of reach. And she would, as usual, be a witness to it happening. Watching as the world passed by, unable to say or do a thing.

"Uchiha Sasuke, I do not know what you hope to achieve by being here," Tsunade spoke, her voice quiet but seeming to bellow her words authoritatively. "By all accounts and purposes, you should be executed or at the very least incarcerated." She narrowed her eyes. "However, the facts are clear – you have not yet acted criminally while within the walls of Konoha and you are the last surviving Uchiha, lest your brother still be alive."

That same glint in Sasuke's eyes once again. Tsunade stood and walked around the desk, now standing a mere three feet away from Sakura's former team-mate. She studied him again for a long moment, and then, her eyes still narrowed dangerously and her entire body giving off an aura of battle readiness, she spoke.

"As the Fifth and acting Hokage, in the witness of one Haruno Sakura, I Tsunade of Konohagakure –" Sakura held her breath, "– temporarily pardon you from the label of S-Class criminal and missing-nin, pending a probationary period of three years."

Sakura wanted to scream and cheer loudly and only just managed to stifle the joyful cry with a small squeak. Tsunade glared at her out of the corner of her eye and then focused her attention back at Sasuke, who looked as though he didn't know how to take this news.

"During this probationary period you will have ANBU stationed within an appropriate distance to regulate your movements. Your chakra levels will be drained –" Sasuke frowned, "– and in one year I will decide if you are to be allowed to continue your missions. Even then, they will be D-rank in order to prove that you are to be trusted. Failure to comply with any of these conditions will result in you being further drained of your chakra and blinded. Finally, and this is the one that matters the most as your punishment," Tsunade's eyes hardened. "I heard from Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto many years ago that other than killing your brother you wished to resurrect your clan. One of your life's goals."

Now Sasuke wasn't the only one to tense. Sakura had a feeling she knew what was coming.

"You are prohibited from resurrecting your clan for the next three years," Tsunade decreed quietly. "If you do so, mother and child will be executed and you will be incarcerated for the rest of your life – are these terms acceptable to you, Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sakura felt like screaming at Tsunade that no, this wasn't fair. All Sasuke had left to live for was resurrecting his clan and Tsunade was going to take that from him? And punish him in such harsh ways? She tried to tell herself that Tsunade would never harm a child…but then again, she reminded herself, Tsunade became a different person when she was acting as Hokage.

She waited to hear Sasuke decline or worse, snarl that he would never comply with such outrageous terms and attempt to flee. But all he did was look at the floor.

Finally he looked up, straight into Tsunade's eyes and clearly stated, "Yes."

Tsunade herself looked surprised. She hadn't expected Sasuke to go so far. It appeared that he was serious about remaining in Konoha and starting anew. If he was willing to put off the resurrection of his clan to gain the trust of the people back, he apparently planned to remain in Konoha for a while. Assassinations and indiscretions did not seem to be on the agenda.

The older woman sighed and nodded her head. She glared up at him meaningfully. "Very well – but remember, Uchiha – if you betray this village again, there will be no mercy."

He didn't move or acknowledge these words.

"Sakura? You may unbind him."

She was so excited that she nearly jumbled the jutsu and once again Sasuke winced as the raw chakra stuck his neck. An angry welt marred a place near the curse seal.

Sakura forced herself not to look at it.

Tsunade cleared her throat, now looking at Sakura. "I will leave you in charge of draining his chakra reserves."

Sakura paled. "What? Why? Shizune is –"

"I asked you, Sakura," Tsunade cut in quietly, looking at her apprentice evenly. "For Shizune to do it would require use of the hospital and draw attention that we don't want until this whole thing blows over. I am confident in your abilities to do this quickly and quietly."

She narrowed her eyes, and Sakura bowed her head. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"I also want you to escort him home – do not leave until the ANBU that I send for arrive. I want you both back here tomorrow morning with Kakashi and Naruto." She noticed the inquisitive look on Sakura's face. "There is something I will discuss privately with Kakashi and the Elders before they meet with Sasuke and there will be plenty of time for that tomorrow. Right now I think we all need some sleep."

There was a note of finality in her voice that dared both Sakura and Sasuke to question it.

She didn't, choosing instead to bow her head and motion for Sasuke to come with her. She knew that this was also a test of Tsunade's. Even though she was allowing Sasuke to remain in Konoha and had set so many terms, she would be testing him for a long while yet. Now it was to see whether he would attempt anything while in Sakura's company – she was more than capable of handling him of course.

It was while she was leading Sasuke towards the apartment he had abandoned so long ago that she realized Tsunade was testing her as well. Testing whether she was ready or not to kill Sasuke should he prove to be the S-Class criminal everyone labelled him as.

* * *

The "continues" win…

TBC


	3. Chapter Three

_**Are We the Waiting**_

_Author_: KuriQuinn

_Title_: Are We The Waiting

_Fandom_: Naruto

_Disclaimer_: I don't own Naruto, never will and have no intention of leading a crusade to try to own it. That's too much money and too much effort. However, I do like to manipulate the characters to do my bidding because it amuses me and countless others. The idea for the wonderful anime was

_Rating_: PG-13

_Pairing_: Sakura/Sasuke

_Summary_: Life, especially high school life, is full of doing stupid things. But with Chaya Mizuhara, it seems to be an art…

_Authors Note: _For the sake of this fic and my idea, I use references to the manga as I see fit – unlike in the chapters 300 onward I do have Sakura and Naruto having teamed up with Sai, but they failed to find or rescue Sasuke so it makes sense that she hasn't seen him since he knocked her out.

* * *

0

The journey to Sasuke's apartment was just as silent as the journey to the Hokage's quarters had been, but Sakura forced herself not to make a note about it. Her mind was working a mile a minute as she tried to plan her next moves and how she was supposed to talk to Sasuke like normal after so long.

She was still very surprised that he had been let off. She couldn't even begin to enter the mind-set of her mentor but decided that she shouldn't care. The main thing was the Sasuke was alive and back in Konoha. She should be jumping for joy!

It was hard to jump for joy when you were leading a former criminal back to his home, which happened to be a ghost town that had been empty for almost ten years now. The younger children actually believed the Uchiha Compound to be haunted by the souls of the murdered Uchiha clan, a myth their parents encouraged to keep them from entering the uninhabited holdings. People swore that they could hear the agonized death cries of the ghosts.

Sakura hated the people that did this. It was almost as bad as the ones that discussed her life as though it was their business.

People had reprimanded and given harried warnings even to her when she had decided to relocate from her parent's apartment to the smaller one located over a shop in the Uchiha Compound. She ignored their stupidity when it came to these warnings. Others told her she didn't belong there and had no right to disturb the resting place of the Uchiha – but in Sakura's own stubborn and haunted heart, she had known different. If anyone belonged close to the Uchiha, it was either her or Naruto. Those knew loss were the only ones capable of caring for the holdings left behind.

And Naruto had long ago made clear that he wanted nothing to do with Sasuke since their failed rescue attempt. Losing their team-mate had been a hard blow for Naruto the first time – the second time it had been nearly shattering. It was around the time of Sasuke's default that Sakura had learned why Kakashi was always late to meet them. He spent a lot of time at the grave of a childhood friend and teammate. It seemed that even in loss one could never forget what a person had meant. And it appeared that neither could Naruto forget what Sasuke had done.

The house that she resided in had once belonged to Uchiha Teyaku and Uruchi, Sasuke's aunt and uncle. There had been photos of them in the empty house, showing a kind-faced middle-aged couple with greying hair and the same obsidian eyes as their nephew. She had erected a memorial altar to them the day she moved in and even at night she was calmed to sleep by the slowly burning incense and the photographs across the room. It gave the place such a feeling of being inhabited that she had hastened to do something of the same in all of the other empty homes.

Her thoughts were scattered as she and Sasuke finally arrived before one of the larger homes located in the center of the Compound. Sasuke's home seemed to loom over the both of them, a hulking shadow in the night. If it weren't for the blooming garden in the front it would have seemed dead and haunted as the villagers believed it to be.

She knew that Sasuke's apartment was on the second floor and for a moment wondered if he was going to go before her or if she would have to continue to lead him. To her surprise he walked forward, casting a glance towards the garden with an unreadable expression on his face and pushing the door open. Sakura followed him mutely.

The inside if Sasuke's home was as imposing if not more than it was outside. Spartan furnishings cast dark shadows on the wood of the floor, a particularly dark spot no amount of scrubbing had ever stripped away blossoming out of the center of the floor. The scent of smoke and emptiness filled the place.

There were two reasons why when Sakura had moved into the Uchiha Compound that she had not chosen to live in Sasuke's home. The first had to do with her belief that he might someday return to Konoha and maybe even physically throw her out – while the other had to do with the vicious aura that emanated from the house. She knew that his parents had been murdered in this very house by their own son. Something had always kept her from being at ease alone in this house. She could barely come in for a few hours at a time to do the dusting and light incense and candles before she had to leave again.

But now that she wasn't alone in the house she felt a little comforted. Unconsciously she watched Sasuke's face for some kind of inclination or emotion at being home after so many years. Only his eyes showed a glimmer of recognition of the place of childhood, his face remaining as though it had been chiselled out of stone.

"It's clean in here."

She jumped when he spoke, the shock making her stomach leap. He was staring over towards the altar where his parent's pictures were displayed. It had always been there but she had recently lit incense and placed flowers from Ino's shop there.

The question hung in the air without him asking and she almost choked herself to answer it. "I come by every month to clean up – it gets awfully dusty around here. And while I'm here…they just seem so lonely I like them to think that people are still thinking of them. You and Ita – well, no one else is here to do it and everyone else thinks that his place is haunted, so…I do it."

Silence.

Sasuke continued to stare at the flowers that were shivering a little from the draft of the door. Sakura's legs itched from standing and there were butterflies in her stomach as she waited for him to order her to leave. But instead, all she heard was a quiet, "Thank you."

She was so shocked for a moment she didn't know what to do. And then, as though by reflex, she went into a defensive position. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes, almost curious. When he didn't do anything, she relaxed and said, "The last time you thanked me I woke up on a bench outside."

She thought she saw the beginnings of a smirk but wasn't sure.

There was a howling noise from far off and suddenly Sakura was aware of how late it was. Tsunade's orders rang in her ears as a reminder and she nodded resolutely. "W-well…I suppose we should get to work. I'm sure you want me out of your hair – I've heard that I need to be taken in small doses – and the ANBU will be around soon. I still have to…uh…start the procedure."

He looked at her piercingly, as though unexpectedly reminded of the terms of his presence here and then nodded slowly. "You're the medic."

It was the first acknowledgment of station she had ever gotten from him and she nodded.

"You're going to be extremely weak after the procedure," she told him. "It's best if you lie down – in fact, you'll probably sleep a lot afterward, so maybe we should bring you up to your room and – "he sent her another piercing look and she stopped talking for a second. "Or I could do it here. The couch is as good a place as any."

She didn't have to tell him twice, because he was slowly walking across the entrance towards one of the hard couches and lying down. She was a little surprised at this gesture and merely stared at him for a moment. He was watching her even though he was lying down, and raised an impatient eyebrow.

She hurried over.

Apparently, some things _hadn't_ changed.

He watched her every move as she came forward and stood before him almost hesitantly. She breathed deeply, the cold and musty air mixing with the scent of Sasuke at such a close proximity to her. She forced herself to calm down and focus on what she was about to do. Even though Tsunade had taught her well and she had performed this procedure already five times before on various criminals, she was nervous. There was usually a law about performing such a jutsu on someone so close to one's heart. Further proof that when she wanted to be, Tsunade could be a bitch.

She put the thought out of her mind. She would yell at Tsunade later. Right now, she had a mission to concentrate on.

Kneeling down so that Sasuke was lying right in front of her, his left side to her, she stretched out her arms over his body. She could feel tension mixing dangerously with his high chakra levels radiating off of him almost like an inferno. She sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. "Sasuke, I need you to calm down or this could go very wrong."

He peered at her suspiciously for a second, a different emotion flickering in his empty black eyes for a moment, before nodding and closing his eyes. Almost immediately, his chakra became controlled, as though there was a barrier keeping it regulated.

She breathed in appreciation at his control and then nodded.

With his eyes closed the way they were now, in this darkness, and the curse seal still gleaming at her she was reminded of that time during the Chuunin Exam when he had first received the brand that would affect everyone's life in such a monumental way. It was not as acrid as it had been when he first received it, but its presence reminded her that Orochimaru was still alive somewhere.

And probably hadn't liked having to give up his vessel.

She blinked. It had been longer than three years. Why had it only now occurred to her to wonder why Sasuke was here and not being used as the vessel of Orochimaru? Could he actually be Orochimaru in disguise, managing to fool…?

No. Orochimaru would not be able to fool both herself and Tsunade with a trick like that, there was bound to be some kind of tip-off to his identity that either woman would pick up on. Sakura knew Sasuke better than anyone else – having been obsessed with him as a child had helped in one respect at least – and she knew that Tsunade knew Orochimaru almost to the same extent.

"Sakura, any time now."

Sasuke's voice was laced with irritation and she saw he had cracked on eye open to glare at her. The sense of old times flew back over her again and she grinned for the first time since leaving Tsunade's apartments. She nodded. "Sorry, I was just thinking about…never mind. Close your eyes again."

He did as he was told and she hurriedly made the hand signs _o-ushi _and _ryu_ to activate the technique. It was imperative that her own chakra was calm so that she could perform the task at hand. Then she stretched her right hand over his head and held her left hand before her face, index and middle fingers perpendicular.

Draining a person's chakra reserves was a hard task to perform, not only because chakra was intermingled with a person's life force and thus depended on how strong the will to live of the individual burned, but also because chakra was divided into seven different parts; the procedure to perform the task entailed seven separate jutsu. Each one was just as taxing as the last.

"This might hurt a little," she told him flatly but knowing he wouldn't reply. And then, without further wait, she pushed her hand downward, her own chakra clashing with the churning chakra of Sasuke. "_Atama no takuwae – akeru."_

Sasuke jerked and she felt a pulling sensation between the both of them, almost like a vacuum existed between her hand and his body. A dark almost violet essence was emanating before her eyes from where her hand lay over Sasuke's head. Just as it came into contact with her hand it appeared to evaporate into the air around them.

She waited until the visible chakra was nothing more than a wisp, just enough for everyday function, before she moved her hand to hover over Sasuke's eyes, which were closed in a grimace of discomfort. "_Me no takuwae – akeru."_

Sasuke hissed and she bit her lips as she watched the dark blue swirling chakra sift upwards from his closed eyes and disappearing just as had happened before. It didn't take as long to drain as the first jutsu has, but then again the first jutsu had been draining the dominant amount of chakra in Sasuke's body. Everything after the first was just supplemental.

Now her right hand moved on its own violation, her mouth murmuring jutsu after jutsu and watching the almost tangible looking chakra swirl above her angrily before disappearing into the air around them, "_Nodo no takuwae – shinzo no takuwae – i no takuwae – sacurum no takuwae – ne no takuwae! Akeru!"_

By the time she was finished, Sasuke was as white as a sheet and shivering lightly. The last remnants of chakra churned in the space between then before it too disappeared and all of a sudden the two of them were the only moving phenomena.

Sasuke breathed deeply as though trying to regain his power from the air and Sakura smiled pityingly in his direction. He would have to undergo this procedure every month or so to keep his chakra levels at the stage that Tsunade wanted them. A part of her wondered what had made Sasuke, the least person imaginable to endure this punishment, agree to it.

"Are you alright?" she asked him, and when there was no reply she continued, "I could make you some tea or get you some water or – "

"– shut up?" he breathed.

She made a face, "Or I could do that." He snorted and began to push himself up. Panic shot through her and she moved to push him back down, "Don't; moving right now is a really bad idea. You could make yourself pass out and go into shock!"

He ignored her, propping himself up on the couch so that he was looking straight at her but still supported by the cushions. She pulled her hands back again and felt her lips pull together in a thin line. He was just as stubborn as Naruto!

His head rested on a large pillow and she could sense his eyes roving over her. She swallowed, willing herself not to look away from him as he stared right down into her eyes. An irrational fear made her think that the blood red sharingan would be turned upon her, dark and hateful just like –

"You've changed."

She was drawn out of her thoughts by his voice once again and when she realized what it was that he had said, she smirked and shrugged, "Not really. The day you left, I grew up. It's as simple as that."

He closed his eyes, leaning back as he digested this piece of information. She had been sure that he had noticed her change, but for him to actually voice it was remarkable. She almost felt as though she had been complemented by her former team-mate, but then remembered that he never complemented people and probably never would.

The clock in the dining room chimed three and she realized with a startled shake that she had been hear for an hour. She really did need to get home at some point, especially if she was to be rested for the meeting with Tsunade the next morning. Sasuke as well – as the medic-nin of the two, she needed to let him sleep.

She glanced out one of the windows, barely able to make out the mask of one of the ANBU before it disappeared. They had let her see them so that she knew they were there to watch him. She could leave at any time now.

"I'm going," she told him. "Do you need me to bring you upstairs It's no problem, I – "

"Here's fine."

She made a face. The dismissive tone was becoming annoying. She shrugged. It couldn't be helped. This was Sasuke, through and through – five years wouldn't change it.

"Alright, I'll be by to check on you in the morning and we'll go to Tsunade's from there, alright?"

"Aa."

She made another face. 'Aa' was Sasuke's all purpose word for 'yes', 'no' and 'shut up'. Either way she looked at it, she felt like she was getting attitude. But the fact that it was _Sasuke_ of all people, here, back home in Konoha, talking to her – and he hadn't called her annoying yet! This had to be a miracle.

Nodding, she walked away, leaving him lying alone on the sofa, his eyes closed. She could hear his breathing even out and smiled when she realized he had fallen asleep. It was normal considering what had just transpired. He would probably be sleeping a lot over the next few weeks to make up for the loss of so much energy in one fell swoop.

She pushed open the heavy oak door of the Uchiha household, stopping on the landing. She glanced up at the sky, staring at the dark and stars far above her, straining her ears against the ringing silence to hear both the ANBU as well as Sasuke's even breathing. She was afraid to leave for fear the thought of this being a dream might overwhelm her and send her into an episode. It had been known to happen before.

Part of her resented Sasuke for the effect that his disappearance had had on her life. It was almost as though she had lived her life as satellite to him. For the earlier part of her life that was exactly what she had been.

She knew that a lot of people not only pitied her but criticised her for her devotion to the Uchiha heir. In the first years of his disappearance, hers and Ino's friend's had called her obsessive and almost like a tag-a-long dog. As his absence became more prolonged, they had called her a simple-minded fool and lovesick idiot. She knew that they had been right at the time – back then she had pursued Sasuke for the sake of liking someone. Even now she couldn't forget that day so long ago when she was barely five years old and she had passed him in the market – and he had smiled at her! Long before even the whisper of murder had been conceived in the mind of his older brother, Sasuke had smiled at her.

And then after the massacre she had just been drawn to him.

But now, Sasuke had become such a defining part of her life. When he had been gone, she had forced herself to become more than the third member of Team Seven. Naruto and Sasuke had always measured their growth against each other – hadn't they tried to fight to the death over just that fact? Their bond of friendship had made Sakura jealous – jealous that she had stood by and done nothing, jealous that there was no one that she shared such a bond with. A determined fire had demanded that she grow as well.

And she had realized that in truth, she was the lucky one. Sasuke and Naruto had only had each other to measure their strength and worth against growing up. She had been a weak and useless member of the team, more interested in her looks and her obsession with Sasuke to bother training – the amount of Kakashi's overdone and improbable illusion jutsu's that she had fallen for were a testament to this. It had taken Sasuke's leaving that she realized that she had always been able to measure herself against both of her team-mates. She had only needed to try and they would have acknowledged her.

Naruto did. Returning after almost three years of training he had been the first to remark in the change of her. After their disastrous attempt at finding Sasuke again, he had transferred some of his competitiveness with Sasuke to her, particularly when it became clear just how far Tsunade's training and her persistence had brought her.

To have Naruto's acceptance made her yearn for Sasuke's, and his absence had become more pronounced. When she trained, she gave it her all. When she sparred with Naruto, she pushed her limits, her mind constantly chanting that she needed to be better, better than Naruto was. If she could surpass Naruto, she would come close to Sasuke's abilities. And when she came close enough to those abilities perhaps she could seek him out and prove her worth – this was no longer a task to gain his approval or his love, but something to prove to herself and anyone else that doubted that she was a shinobi, had always been meant to be a shinobi and would one day be remembered as one of the greatest.

"You're still afraid that I'll leave."

The deadly quiet voice from across the room rattled her thoughts and she gave a perceptible squeak of surprise. Her hold on the open door wavered a little.

She hadn't even noticed his breathing patterns change – in fact, they hadn't. He had been awake this whole time without her knowing. Something told her that even though Sasuke's chakra reserves had been sufficiently drained, he would still be an impressive foe were he tested. After all, he could still practice other forms of jutsu – taijutsu being the most prominent. She knew for a fact that despite his reliance on his sharingan and various forms of ninjutsu, Sasuke's taijutsu skills when he had left them had come close to Rock Lee's – and after so long they could only have grown.

"Gods, Sasuke, stop that, you scared me – and no, it's no that," she said, turning back to him and letting the door fall closed again behind her as she looked at the weak body of the heir to the Uchiha clan. He was watching her every move almost resentfully and with the usual suspicion in his eyes. She allowed half a smile to appear on her face. "It's just that I'm in such shock I can't think. I'm not even tired or anything – it's like my brain is on fire or something. I don't think I'll even be able to sleep when I get home. I think I'll just go over some of the scrolls Tsunade gave me."

He regarded her calculatingly, as though searching for a lie in her words. It was almost as if he didn't believe that she wasn't pining over him the way she used to.

'Hey, _I'm_ surprised I'm not going completely out of my mind,' she thought grimly when she realized this.

After a second, he made the slightest movement of his shoulder, the shrug an indifferent one. "I could care less what you do. Stay here for all I care – " it sounded almost like a dare, " – but I'm going to sleep."

And without waiting for her to reply, he turned his head a little ways away from her and closed his eyes. His breathing became regulated and she was sure that this time, he was sleeping. Sasuke wouldn't pull the same trick twice, it just wasn't his style. Naruto maybe, but never Sasuke.

It took her a moment to decide what to do. After all, he had made the mistake of telling his former "stalker" that she could stay in his house for all he cared. She grinned at the thought, thinking that he would probably be angry at her the next day for staying here while he was asleep. Sasuke had always hated to be asleep when people were around – something about weakness, Sakura thought.

Ghosting across the floor she sat a few feet away from the sleeping young man, drawing her knees up to her chin as she looked at him. If her belief in his not playing the same trick twice was not sufficient proof that her former team-mate was asleep, the completely serene face drove the point home.

He hadn't changed the way he slept, she mused. Even when they used to camp out on a dangerous mission, when he was truly sleeping he looked so much younger and more at peace than usual. Unless he was in the throws of a nightmare, she remembered.

He'd woken even the unwakable Naruto once during the mission to the Wave Country. He didn't speak to anyone for a week after that…

Her eyes fell upon the scar across his left cheek that he had not had so long ago. She wondered where it had come from and what he had been doing when he received it. From its jagged nature she was almost quite sure that it had been a shuriken that had caught him in the face. What disturbed her was the fact that to have a shuriken wound to the face meant that Sasuke had been careless during a fight – which he never was. Even when he was getting his ass handed to him, Sasuke came away from a fight virtually unscathed.

Besides, a scar of that size would have to come from close range – possibly even dug into his face by some enemy as a form of torture. Or maybe even punishment.

Unconsciously her fingers flitted over the rough scar, barely touching it but still able to feel its texture. To her utter amazement and shock, Sasuke didn't awaken from his sleep to tell her off or bat her hands away. Touching him for the second time since meeting him reinforced the reality that Sasuke was in front of her.

Sakura supposed it would take quite a few days for her to be able to fully accept that Sasuke was once again home. Right now, her mind was too busy doubting and casting suspicious worries as to the reason for his presence. That part of her that had resented Sasuke also refused to trust him right away. She knew that this was a big difference from the Sakura of long ago and the Sakura of now. She no longer blindly trusted and followed all things Uchiha Sasuke related. After so much betrayal and practical lessons in life, she knew that it would be a while before she could fully accept Sasuke as one of the team despite her feelings for him.

And she had a feeling that it would take longer for the rest of Konoha – Naruto especially.

She pulled her hands back from Sasuke's face and leaned forward on the sofa, her face a good foot away from his as she watched him sleep. Reality was suspended for a second and she could vaguely hear herself chanting 'I'll deal with it tomorrow' in the back of her head, like it was some mantra.

Ever the optimist, she kept telling herself that everything would work out. It just needed to be taken one day at a time. Sasuke would finish his three years of probation and be welcomed back to Konohoa. Team Seven would reunite and she would actually be a valued member this time around and they would become the next legendary ninjas, known throughout the world. Naruto would become Hokage, Sasuke would become head of the ANBU and she would become the strongest and most respected medical-nin Konoha had ever seen.

As for that wish from long ago, a dying whisper of what she wanted to mean to Sasuke, she shook if off, locking it away as some childhood fantasy that would never come true and that she would learn to live without. If everything could just happen as she willed it that would be enough for her.

'I hope at least,' she thought heavily, her eyes drooping slowly closed as she watched the fallen Uchiha son.

* * *

TBC 


	4. Chapter Four

_**Are We the Waiting**_

_Author_: KuriQuinn

_Title_: Are We The Waiting

_Fandom_: Naruto

_Disclaimer_: I don't own Naruto, never will and have no intention of leading a crusade to try to own it. That's too much money and too much effort. However, I do like to manipulate the characters to do my bidding because it amuses me and countless others. The idea for the wonderful anime was

_Rating_: PG-13

_Pairing_: Sakura/Sasuke

_Summary_: Life, especially high school life, is full of doing stupid things. But with Chaya Mizuhara, it seems to be an art…

_Authors Note:_ Ignore spelling and grammar errors if there are any. I'm beyond caring, you should be to.

* * *

The sounds of birds twittering loudly outside and the light intruding into the room were what woke her from her sleep, blasting away the hazy cloud of dreamless sleep. Her entire body felt heavy and useless, almost like a soaking wet rug that had yet to be strained.

Sakura groaned and rolled over, burying her face in the thirsty pillow and pulling the covers over her head in an effort to block all things that screamed 'morning'. The annoying birds continued their song and she mumbled a few curses under her breath. Since when did the birds sing outside her window and why the _hell_ was it so bright in there? The tree outside her apartment usually blocked the light quite well and the birds had avoided the tree since she had nearly barbecued them one evening while trying out one of Tsunade's jutsu's for herself.

It was the feel of the soft comforter and pillows, as well as the fact that she was stretched out quite comfortably instead of her usual position of huddling into the crook of her bed and the wall to keep from falling out that had her fully awoken and wondering where she was. The events of the night before rushed through her mind in quick succession that made her vault upwards, tearing the comforter away in the process.

She stared around her in shock, her last memory having been falling asleep sitting over the couch in the Uchiha parlour. That was definitely not where she was right now and the realization of her exact location made her tremble more than if she had woken up to find herself taken hostage somewhere.

'_I'm in Sasuke's bedroom!'_

The thoughts sent a thrill through her body but despite this, she couldn't make them seem real to her. The probability of such a thing was so low that she immediately corrected herself and decided she must be in one of the two guest rooms in the house. Her heart-rate slowing only a little, she forced herself to focus on the real problems.

First of all, what was she doing in a bed when she fallen asleep on a couch, how had she been moved without waking up and where was Sasuke. As she threw off the covers and swung her feet onto the wooden floor she mentally moved her last question up to the top of the list. Sasuke was the priority at the moment.

She glanced around for a clock or some sign that would enlighten her just a little more as to her situation and breathed in relief when she located one. Her respite was brief, however. Her eyes rested on the picture near the digital clock. The same picture that all four of them had – Iruka-sensei had forced them to take it so long ago after the graduation ceremony.

Without a doubt, she was in Sasuke's room.

Her hand seemed to reach out on its own, picking up the octagonal framed photograph and staring into it. She usually had so little time to stop and study her own copy, but to see it in Sasuke's room made a warm feeling appear in her stomach. When she was younger she had been so sure that he had discarded the memento the day he got it. He had never really believed in their team.

She examined the four faces in the picture with a wistful look on her own. Had this really only been five years ago? It seemed like an eternity since those happy days. Kakashi's excuses, Naruto and Sasuke's fights, Sakura begging Sasuke for a date, Naruto begging Sakura for a date…

The cheerful expression on Kakashi's face hadn't been seen in a while. Whenever she met him around Konoha these days, Sakura was appalled by the grave look in his eyes. Kakashi seemed consumed by his mask lately, as though it was a barrier between himself and the world.

And the three genin in the photograph? Such different paths – what Sasuke had said to her so long ago was true. They were branched out so far she wondered for a moment if it would ever be possible to be a team again. Would Naruto and Sasuke still compete with each other, or would it just be a battle of hatred for one another until one of them died? Would Sasuke still be the arrogant and 'best-of-the-best' ninja he had been when they were younger? And would she still be the grinning girly-girl without a skill to her name?"

She frowned and replaced the photograph on the desk. It looked as though it had recently been disturbed, judging by the fingerprint in the layer of dust. Obviously Sasuke, which half explained her presence in his room. Why she was in his room and where he was were the major questions she wanted answered and that, in a rather quick thought, brought her to gaze back to the timepiece.

It was nearly seven o'clock.

She never slept past six, even on her days off.

She almost screamed out loud – almost being the keyword. Outwardly, she remained as calm as any other person might have been able to muster if they realized a series of things had gone terribly, terrible surreal since opening their eyes at first light. Inwardly, though, that long forgotten part of her was screaming and running circles about, trying to come up with a plan of action or an excuse or anything that made the tiniest bit of sense to her.

Calm down, she ordered herself, glowering at her reflection in the mirror – the fact that Sasuke even owned a mirror was somehow surprising – and taking a deep, calming breath. The first order of business was to find Sasuke.

Find him she did, not three minutes later when she bounded down the stairs, glancing left and right fervently with the mix of dread and nausea that suggested he might have left. She was utterly astonished, however, to find him in the kitchen of the main house, calmly sipping what appeared to be coffee and staring absently out the window. For a second, whatever frantic thread had been propelling her onward petered out and she stopped, simply staring at the picture that was the raven haired young man.

Unlike other nin whom she had subjected to the chakra reserve draining procedure, apparently Sasuke didn't need the days of rest to regain use of simple functions. He was already sitting up, majestically reigning over the house as though he had never left it. He still wore the same clothes from the day before, minus the cape and hat, and his hair was stuck up in the back the way it always had, which reinforced a sneaking suspicion she had always had that he didn't brush his hair.

A thousand words popped up in her head, things she could say to him or manners in which she could berate him for scaring her – even asking him the multitude of questions that were still eating away at her inside. But at the same time, she knew it was a fragile situation they were both in at the moment and she didn't want to ruin anything. Instead, she silently padded towards the table where he was sitting and took the chair opposite him.

She only noticed at that point that there was already a steaming cup waiting for her, as though he had been expecting her. Hell, he probably had, she reminded herself. Apparently her questioning gaze was beginning to irk him because he turned to meet her eyes head on and stated matter-of-factly, "You still move like an elephant. Is that what the chuunin standards are?"

A flush of colour came to her cheeks and with her tone hinting embarrassment and a twinge of anger, she reached for the cup and remarked, "At least I hung around to make it to chuunin."

The barb was tactless and roughly dealt, fuelled by frustration and her annoyance at once again becoming the flighty, stupid twelve-year-old. It didn't surprise her that he didn't react to the insult, merely taking another sip of the liquid. Deciding it was wisest to drop the subject, she did the same, grimacing as the bland taste of water and spices.

"It's tea," she managed a second after swallowing the hot fluid, feeling warmth delve behind her chest and stomach as it went down.

"Haven't had time to do any shopping yet," he shrugged. She reflected on this, realizing that it was true.

The conversation threatened to die again and she struggled to find something to say that would keep it alive. Her peculiar sleeping arrangements sprang to mind and without thinking it through she blurted out, "Why didn't you put me in one of the guest rooms?"

His answer was swift and clearly uncaring. "You're not a guest."

She blanched, unsure of how she was supposed to take that comment. It was a double-edged sword, now that she thought about it. If he meant she wasn't a guest in the sense that he hadn't invited her in, she was just trespassing and being the same annoying dolt she'd always been. But if she wasn't a guest in the sense that he still considered her a team-mate and the caretaker of his home during his absence, she was just as badly off.

While she hastily tried to understand the connotations of his remark, he had resumed his former activity of looking outside. It took her a moment to realize what it was that he was looking at. Even she couldn't see it, but she supposed even when it was barely activated, the sharingan could pick up the barest movements of the ANBU surrounding the house.

They had been there the entire night then.

Abruptly, a thought sputtered to a head, so quickly that she almost dropped the tea cup in her hand. The ANBU had been there. They had seen her about to leave…they had also seen her return to living room and fall asleep next to Sasuke.

Oh shit, she was going to be in trouble. Especially if they told Tsunade about –

"The meeting!" she gasped suddenly, jumping up in shock, actually spilling the tea. Flecks of it scattered over her shirt, but she ignored it, staring at Sasuke with wide eyes. She had entirely forgotten about the meeting with Tsunaded and the Elders. "We're going to be late! We _are _late!"

"I wondered when you'd remember," he commented vaguely, putting his own cup down with more grace than she had managed.

Fury welled up inside of her. Somehow, despite knowing that he had always been this way, portraying this air of condescension irked her. The entire time he had acted as though she was nothing more than any other person who was acting on orders to be in his company, like an inanimate block which existed just to take up space. His space. A poisonous taste was in her mouth and in two strides she was standing right in front of him, glaring up at him with as much fury and irritation as she could muster, trying to duplicate the same death-glare that he had always trained on her so many years before. "Get your things. We're leaving."

Whether surprised at the way she handled the situation this time or not, the only indication he gave her was a slightly raised eyebrow, before nodding slowly and reaching for the discarded cloak and wide-brimmed hat. It wouldn't do well to have him recognized in the street before he had met with the Elders. Some unaware nin might try to take him down, whether or not he was in Sakura's company.

They set out immediately, Sasuke calmly following her while she groused inwardly about the entire situation. So far she had done a bumbling job of everything short of repealing the death sentence. What was wrong with her? Immediately, she promised to stop looking at the circumstances with the eyes of someone with a personal stake in it, instead forcing herself into the grim, detached state that any other case would have demanded of her.

Around them she could sense that the ANBU were following, always at a safe distance and always careful not to draw attention to the two nin who walked together through the streets. Occasionally a neighbour would notice her and wave, then notice that there was a stranger in tow and shrink back once again. She pretended not to be aware of them, instead focussing on her charge.

"Welcome home, by the way," she told him through the corner of her mouth as they turned onto the street that faced the Hokage's tower.

He didn't answer. And if he was going to at any point, it was cut off by the sudden commotion down the street. Sakura frowned, squinting into the distance were a minor dust cloud was rising up, causing a clamour among the townspeople. Although she was at least a foot away from him, she felt Sasuke tense, as though preparing to deal with an enemy attack. She gazed at him, wide eyed, shaking her head.

The last thing they needed at the moment was some kind of scene.

The gods, it seemed, were tired of giving her small allowances, because the dusty whirlwind was getting closer to them by the minute and judging by the way it was slowly losing speed, it was headed straight for them. A flash of orange and black later, Sakura was coughing up sand and loose soil, squinting above the mess to see what was going on. When she did, though, she felt her heart leap into her throat.

Naruto stood right in front of Sasuke, poised to deliver a chakra-filled blow to the raven haired young man. His fist was halted, simmering, centimetres from his old team-mates face, on his own expression suggested a kind of raging fury that she hadn't seen for a long while. The angry, fox-like essence that took over his features whenever he experienced such an intense fury was there, and with a vengeance. Sasuke, in contrast, hadn't moved an inch since the blond ninja appeared before him, as though silently threatening him to strike, but Sakura was sure she'd seen the hand near his sword scabbard twitch.

For one long moment, the two former team mates stared long and hard into each others eyes, neither willing to back down. If Sakura could feel the deadly tension radiating from them, she was sure the rest of the people gathered in the street could as well. One wrong move on either part would have them engaged in an all-out war with one another, she realized.

As it had always been years before, it was up to her to diffuse the situation. But she'd always failed back then, hadn't she?

No, don't think about that now, you're not the same Sakura, her inner self coached her. Now do something, or this is going to turn messy. Just pretend it's like old times when you had to stop them from killing each other. Only it's more important this time, ne?

"What are you doing here, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto growled, his knuckles tensing and relaxing even though they hadn't moved from their position in front of Sasuke's face. There was no response from the other, as was the norm. She and Sasuke both knew that ignoring Naruto egged him on even more, although why he was resorting to childishness really made no sense to her. It was as though he was purposefully allowing Naruto to get involved, trying to get him to beat at him.

Well, there's no time for that today, she thought brusquely, and finally jump-started her mind again. In two swift movements she had grabbed both Naruto and Sasuke, each by the ear, effectively toppling Naruto over and causing Sasuke to swear out loud in surprise. With as much nonchalance as she could muster, she stalked forward, inwardly amused by the muffled grumbling of pain and the skid of sandals upon the dirt as they tried to keep up with her. "None of that today, you two, we have a meeting with the Hokage to get to and your fighting will just get us in even more trouble."

"But Sakura-chan – !"

" – get off – !"

"Nope, now hurry up," she snapped cheerfully, smiling at the inquiring gazes from the other villagers and hoping against things hopeful that no one could tell how much her heart was beating right now or how scared she had been that Sasuke might lash out at her the merest from of physical contact she had imposed on him.

(-)

"You're late."

The words of her mentor were true, but they didn't make her feel any less in the wrong. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto were gathered before the Hokage and the village elders. She could feel Naruto's fuming and imagined Sasuke must be glaring at her back at the moment, but knew better than to turn around and scold either of them, especially not now. The eyes of Tsunade as well as the two oldest people in the village glowered down at her in a kind of scrutiny she had always hoped to avoid.

The room was small, windowless and smoky with incense that was always lit when the elders were present. Instead of the furnishings of Tsunade's office, there were only two high backed chairs where the elders sat. Tsunade stood in the middle, her arms crossed over her substantial chest and the expression on her face suggesting she was less than amused at the situation.

In the back, her weapons drawn as if to show that she was definitely not comfortable with this situation, Shizune sat, attention only for Sasuke. It was utterly risky bringing him into the same area as the three leaders of Konoha, especially if it turned out that he was indeed an assassin. Why Tsunade had called such a meeting was a mystery to most, although Sakura believed she could understand some of the logic behind it. It was just another test that Tsunade was forcing.

"Yes, Hokage-same, we were held up. There was a…an incident."

"I imagine there would have to be – especially to make you late when you spent the night in the company of the accused. One would assume that would have made you less tardy."

Sakura winced, wishing that Tsunade hadn't worded it quite in that way, knowing she had done so precisely to see Sakura's reaction. In back of her she could hear Naruto's outraged curse silenced by the Hokage, while she furiously hurried to come up with some kind of excuse that wouldn't sound like one. "I thought it best not to leave him in case he tried anything, both for medical and personal reasons." When Tsunade raised her eyebrows, Sakura grudgingly continued, feeling the back of her neck heating up. "His chakra was sealed, as per your request, Hokage-sama and I also believed that if he tried anything, I had more responsibility taking him out than any ANBU member. Furthermore, with all due respect, I don't believe we were called here to put me on trial for following orders and procedure."

The beginnings of a smile were on Tsunade's face, but the same could not be said for the elders.

"You will show the Gondaime the respect she deserves," croaked the old man with a reprimanding glare that reminded Sakura of her grandmother's. She hadn't liked it then either.

"Sumimasen, sensei," Sakure bowed her head to be polite, but inwardly wished she could throttle the man. The village elders were the most conservative mannered couple she had ever met, their approval hardly ever gracing any of her requests. Tsunade had told her a couple of time that she had no use for the old bats, but that abolishing the system would put in jeopardy every political law and order that Konohagakure had ever established, and so it was just easier to wait for them to die or old age an elect a new pair. "I forgot my place."

"Evidently," his wife conjectured.

There was a commotion at the door and everyone turned at the precise moment that Kakashi strode in, as though walking into this conclave was just as casual as walking into a restaurant or the magazine shop.

"Sorry I'm late," he said in short, clipped tones. For a split second his eyes rested on Sasuke, and then a moment later he added, "Last night I forgot to lock my door and I have a bad sleep walking problem. This morning when I woke up I was in the outskirts of the village."

At the nonplussed looks he blinked, appearing baffled. "It's the truth."

It wasn't the incredulity at his story that had them staring, Sakura thought, feeling a weight in her chest begin to lift, it was the fact that he had actually _told_ it. Kakashi's carefree, lazy days had ended a little after Sakura and Naruto's last encounter with Sasuke, when he had almost killed them. After that, they had both asked their sensei to be more serious in their training and preparing them for the next time…

The next time what…?

Naruto held back a rueful snort and she could feel disbelief emanating from Sasuke.

"Enough of your inappropriate humour, Hatake, the meeting started ten minutes ago," Tsunade snapped. "I asked all of you hear today because I think it wise that you witness the punishment and the behaviour of the accused. There will be no emotional outbursts – " here she looked at Naruto, " – or disrespectful behaviour – " Kakashi pretended to be studying the intricate tapestry designs on the walls, " – or pleading for lightening of sentence." She finished this proclamation, staring long and hard at Sakura who deftly forced herself to stare back.

Finally, she turned her attention back on Sasuke, who had been silent the entire time and who looked as though he would rather be in Ibiko's torture facility than be forced to go through all of this legal mumbo jumbo. Sakura couldn't even understand what was going through Tsunade's mind calling this meeting. Sasuke had underdone the necessary protocol the night before with Sakura and Shizune standing as witness to it. Why were the elders drawing it out?

"Before the elders and I convene on what the exact probationary action will be, in addition to what we decided yesterday, the three of us need to be with Uchiha-jukeisha alone." Sakura winced, both at the statement and at the honorific denoting a criminal serving a sentence. If the punishment didn't imprison him, that title might for the rest of his life. It would even deprive him of the status of head of the ANBU if he had ever had any intention of pursuing it.

"Hokage-sama, I must protest, he is an S-class criminal – !" Shizune was cut off as Tsunade raised one hand.

"The door will remain unlocked and you know as well as I do that the jutsu in place dulls words and words alone. You will all be able to sense our movements. Any prolonged silence and commotion invites you all inside."

"That's risky, baa-san," Naruto commented coolly, his usual cheerful lilt gone from his voice. "If the teme wants to kill, you he – "

"He is unable to do more than taijutsu, what with his chakra levels as they are," Tsunade assured just as regally. There was an intake of breath from Naruto, which confirmed Sakura's suspicion that he hadn't known about their former team mate's depowering. He would never have considered – just as she wouldn't have – that Sasuke would ever do such a thing as agree to give up his own power. It was a mark of how serious he must be to come back here. "And if he does try anything, I am more than competent – do not forget that I'm the Hokage here, boy."

"Not for long," Sakura heard Naruto grumble under his breathe and felt a sort of relieved sweat break out across her neck and back. He was no longer as serious and hell-bent on hurting Sasuke as before. Tsunade's move of allowing Sasuke the privilege of a private audience was her way of offering the olive branch, Sakura knew. She also knew that it was just another in a long line of tests that Sasuke would be receiving probably for the rest of his life.

They waited to be dismissed and then carefully, all four, including Shizune filed out of the room.

The door had hardly closed, when Naruto rounded on Sakura, blue eyes blazing with an angry fire that she had never seen directed at her before. "You knew! You knew he was here and you didn't tell me!"

Sakura felt choked, not knowing how to respond, but was momentarily saved by Kakashi, who had whipped out his ever-present copy of _Icha Icha Paradise_ and pretended to busy himself with it. "Lower your voice, Naruto, or the Hokage might have you escorted out."

Naruto looked like he was about to argue, but decided against it. In some ways, he really had grown, Sakura thought with a note of pride, feeling more at ease now that the blond wasn't about to attack her. In other situations, he probably wouldn't have even hesitated. It was the same in his training. He knew she could take it.

"I would, however, like to learn from Sakura what exactly is going on here," Kakashi finished, glancing up at her from his book. His one visible eye bored into hers and she swallowed, knowing there was no way she could lie to Kakashi. She never could. Naruto, yes, Sasuke – even now, everything she did and said was a lie to keep herself from getting hurt – but Kakashi? Never.

The only solution was to tell the truth and leave anything else out.

Shizune had her ear practically pressed to the door; not for reasons of wanting to eavesdrop, which would have been useless, but to make sure that the elders and Hokage were still safe.

Still feeling her team-mate's scrutiny, she swallowed and launched into the barest tale of what had happened the night before. They listened to her with the patience they always had when she was trying to tell them something, but when she finished, both wore expressions of hurt and worry.

"You should have come to get me anyhow, right after you drained his reserves," Naruto said sourly. "He could have hurt you. At least if it were me – "

"He'd still mess you up and Hinata-chan would be after my blood," Sakura shot back, just as petulantly as Naruto. She was stung by the fact he still believed he needed to protect her. "Don't say she wouldn't, she's got that Byakugan down almost as good as Nedji-sempei does."

"And it is my opinion that if Sasuke wanted to hurt Sakura, he would have already," Kakashi added, trying to pacify the angry blond. Sakura felt a little guilty now, wishing she had gone to find Naruto instead of staying with Sasuke, while another part of her reminded her that she was doing her job following up on a patient. It was an oath she had vowed to keep when she started training as a medic-nin.

'And as for hurting you, he did that five years ago. They're just late on the uptake,' her inner voice reminded her and she wished for the umpteenth time that some kind of psychotherapy could rid her of the stupid voice.

The door opened suddenly – so suddenly that Shizune nearly toppled into a somewhat surprised Sasuke's arms – and the former Team Seven was ushered back inside.

Sakure held her breath tightly, wondering what it would be that Sasuke had been sentenced to perform, but even more curious as to what had gone on in that room while they were out in the hallway.

It galled her that she'd never know.

* * *

TBC 


End file.
